Plastic lobster trap

ABSTRACT

A lobster trap including a container formed by six planar panels, each comprising a plastic frame having spaced plastic strips mounted thereon. The top panel has a door therein, and the side panels are inclined and one thereof has a conventional lobster entrance means therein. A plurality of plastic ballast boxes are secured to the undersurface of the container, each having downwardly and outwardly pointing feet on the opposite ends thereof.

United States Patent [1 1 Jalbert [54] PLASTIC LOBSTER TRAP [76]Inventor: Donald A. Jalbert, 137 NE. Washington, Bartlesville, Okla.74003 [22] Filed: Jan. 26, 1971 [21] Appl. N0.: 109,768

[52] U.S. Cl ..43/l00 [51] Int. Cl. ..A0lk 69/08 [58] Field 01 Search..43/100, 102, 105

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,045,386 7/1962 Coyne..43/l00 1 Jan. 9, 1973 3,319,373 5/1967 1 Gale et al. ..43/l00 PrimaryExaminer-Warner H. Camp Attorney-Bacon & Thomas [57] ABSTRACT A lobstertrap including a container formed by six planar panels, each comprisinga plastic frame having spaced plastic strips mounted thereon. The toppanel has a door therein, and the side panels are inclined and onethereof has-a conventional lobster entrance means therein. A pluralityof plastic ballast boxes are secured to the undersurface of thecontainer, each having downwardly and outwardly pointing feet on theopposite ends thereof.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJM 9 I975 SHEEI 2 OF 2 INVEN TOR001mm 4 JPILBERT 5) 75m W HTTORWE Y5 PLASTIC LOBSTER TRAP BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relatesgenerally to traps for use in capturing lobsters, and more particularlyto an improved lobster trap designed for durability and to remain inplace on the bottom of the waters being worked.

2. Description of the Prior Art There have been traps devised for use incapturing lobsters, such usually being made of wood or metal, or acombination of the two. Wood, of course, becomes waterlogged afterprolonged use, and is subject to breakage. Metal traps, even ifinitially galvanized, tend to rust over a period of time, and inaddition are sometimes difficult to handle and stack.

The need thus exists for a durable, easy to handle lobster trap, a needthat is met by the present invention.

Lobster traps are lowered to the bottom of the body of water beingworked, where they are allowed to rest. In commonly available trapslittle if any thought has been given to the structure of the trap thatengages and rests on the bottom of the bay or river, with the resultthat set traps are frequently unstable and can be easily overturned.There is thus need for a lobster trap that will be stable when set inplace, a need to which the present invention is also addressed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present lobstertrap is made substantiallyentirely from plastic, such as polyethylene, or the petroleum baseplastic known commercially as Marlex, which is relatively impervious tosalt water. The trap includes a container made of six planar panelsconnected together, each panel comprising a plastic frame having spacedplastic strips secured thereto. The container has parallel top andbottom walls, vertical end walls, and side walls that slope inwardlytoward each other from the bottom to the top of the container.

One of the inclined sidewalls has a conventional net lobster entrancemounted therein, and the top wall or panel has an access door therein.The inclined sidewalls give stability to the trap as it is lifted fromthe bottom and ease the passage thereof through the water, and inaddition make it possible to stacka number of lobster traps withoutdamage to the lobster entrance nets.

The bottom wall or panel of-the container has a plu-' rality ofparallel, transversely disposed ballast boxes secured thereto, each ofwhich has downwardly and outwardly directed pointed feet on its oppositeends. The feet on the ballast boxes sink into the bottom of the body ofwater being worked, and give stability to the set trap so that it cannotbe easily overturned.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a lobstertrap that is made of plastic, for ease of handling and durability.

Another object is to provide a lobster trap that can be easily liftedfrom the water, and which remains stable as it is being raised throughthe water.

A further object is to provide a lobster trap that will remain in astable position when set on the bottom of a body of water, and whichcannot be easily overturned.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the invention willbecome readily understood from the following Description of thePreferred Embodiment, when taken together with the accompanyingdrawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top view of the lobster trap ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2. is a front elevational view of the lobster trap of FIG. 1;

FIG.3 is a side elevational view of the lobster trap of FIG. 2, asviewed from the right end thereof, with the door being shown in openposition in phantom lines, and showing the pointed feet digging into thebottom;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view, taken on thestaggered section line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on theline 5-5 of FIG. 1, through one of the door latches;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on theline 6-6 of FIG. 2 showing the manner of assembling two adjacent panels;and;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on theline 77 of FIG. 4, through one of the ballast boxes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,the lobster trap of this invention is indicated at 2 and includes abottom panel 4, a top panel 6, identical end panels 8 and 10, a frontside panel 12, and a back side panel 14, all of the panels beinggenerally planar and made of plastic.

The end'panel 8 is shown in detail in FIG. 4, and includes a trapezoidalframe 16 comprising parallel bottom and top plastic members 18 and 20,respectively, connected at their ends by inclined plastic side members22, and centrally thereof by a vertical brace member 24. The members 18,20, 22 and 24 can be formed separately and bonded together to form theframe 16, as shown, or the frame 16 can be molded in one piece. Securedby bonding to the outside of the frame 16 are horizontally extending,spaced .parallel plastic strips 26 Again, if desired, the strips 26could be molded integrally with the frame 16.

' The end panel 10 is constructed identically to the end panel 8, andincludes a trapezoidal plastic frame 28 having spaced horizontal plasticstrips 30 mounted thereon. Similarly, the bottom panel 4 comprises anelongated rectangular plastic frame 32 having a plurality of parallel,spaced plastic brace members 34 extending transversely thereacross.Spaced parallel plastic strips 36 are secured to the lower side of thebottom frame 32, and extend longitudinally of the lobstertrap 2.

The front panel 12 is also an elongated rectangle, and includes arectangular plastic frame 38 having three equally spaced, parallelplastic brace members 40, 42 and 44 extending vertically thereacross.Another vertical brace member 46 is positioned between the brace members42 and 44, and a conventional lobster entrance 48 comprising a wire ring50 and a net 52 is mounted between the brace members 46 and 44. Spaced,parallel plastic strips 54 are secured to the front panel frame 38, theentrance 48 being left free for the entry of lobsters.

The rear panel 14 is constructed identically to the front panel 12,except that it does not include the fourth brace member 46 or thelobster entrance 48, and comprises a rectangular plastic frame 56 havingplastic strips 58 mounted in parallel spaced relationship thereon. Ifdesired, of course, another lobster entrance like that shown at 48 couldbe mounted on the rear panel 14.

The top panel 6 includes an outer rectangular plastic frame 60 and asmaller inner rectangular plastic frame 62, the inner frame 62 beingcentrally supported within the outer frame 60 by six transverse plasticframe members 64. The area between the inner and outer frames 60 and 62has spaced plastic strips 66 mounted thereon, and the inner frame 62defines an access opening 68 that is fitted with a door 70.

The door 70 is made of plastic, and includes a rectangular frame 72having a central transverse brace member 74. The base edge of the frame72 is secured to the inner frame 62 by plastic hinges 76, and theundersides of the two longer sides of the inner frame have plastic stopstrips 78 secured thereto to prevent the door 70 from falling into theinterior of the lobster trap 2. The door 70 is held in a closed positionagainst the stop strips 78 by a pair of spaced latches 80, and the doorframe 72 has spaced plastic strips 82 secured thereto.

The latches 80 are of identical construction, and each includes twospaced spacer strips 84 secured at their opposite ends to the frames 60and 62. A forward bridging member 86 is connected to the strips 84 overthe frame 62 by screws 88, and a rear bridging member 90 is bonded tothe outer ends of the strips 84. A slide latch 92 is received betweenthe spaced strips 84 and beneath the bridging members 86 and 90, and hasa handle 94 formed thereon. When the slide 92 is moved to engage thehandle 94 with the bridging member 86 the forward end of the slide willlock the closed door 70 in position.

The six panels 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 are secured together along theirmating edges by spaced plastic angle members 96 and screws 98, as shownin detail in FIG. 6. At least three spaced angle members 96 are employedon each of the twelve edges of the lobster trap 2 such serving to formthe panels into a strong but lightweight container. 8

The lobster trap 2 is used by letting it down to rest on the bottom of abody of water. For ideal conditions of use the trap 2 should set firmlyon the bottom; and should not be easy to overturn. The inventionincludes three spaced transversely disposed plastic ballast boxes 100 onthe undersurface thereof that achieve this desired result.

The boxes 100 are made of plastic, and are identical. Each include apair of identical vertical, parallel sidewalls 102. Each sidewall 102has a straight top edge 104, and has a shallow inverted V 106 cut in thebottom edge thereof, whereby to produce two upwardly inclined edges 107.The end edges 108 of the sidewalls 102 slope inwardly and upwardly fromthe lower comer thereof, whereby to form points on the lower corners ofthe sidewall.

The edges 107 are joined by bottom walls 110 that extend therebetweenand the inclined end edges 108 are joined by end walls 112. The bottomedges of the end walls 1 l2 and the outer, bottom ends of the bottomwalls 110 meet, and together with the pointed lower corners of thesidewalls 102 define feet 114 that point outwardly and downwardly.

The ballast boxes are of sufficient length so that the feet 114 extendlaterally beyond the bottom panel 4 of the lobster trap 2, and saidboxes are secured to the spaced strips 36 by plastic angle members 116and screws 118. The ballast boxes 100 can be fitted with rocks or othersuitable ballast, and the lower ends of the inclined bottom walls havedrain holes 120 formed therein.

In use the lobster trap '2 is baited, and is then lowered to the bottomby a rope, a hook or other suitable hoisting means. As the trap 2settles on the'bottom the pointed feet 114 of the ballast boxes 100 tendto dig into the mud, with penetration being limited by engagement of theinclined bottom panels 110 with the bottom. Once settled in place, theballast boxes 100 give great stability to the trap, the projection ofthe feet 114 beyond the trap aiding in this.

When it is desired to take in the lobster trap 2 such is simply liftedfrom the bottom, the inclined side panels 12 and 14 making movementthrough the water relatively easy, and giving stability to the movingtrap 2. Any captured lobsters are then removed through the door 72, andthe trap is then either reset or placed in storage. If the latter, theinclined side walls 12 and 14 help ensure that the netting 52 of thelobster entrance 48 on one trap is not damaged by another trap placedimmediately adjacent.

The present invention is thus seen to satisfy the objects set forthhereabove. Obviously, changes and variations in the invention arepossible.

lclaim:

l. A lobster trap, comprising: a container including parallel top andbottom panels, a pair of vertical end panels, and a pair of side panelsthat slope inwardly from said bottompanel toward said top panel, all ofsaid panels being made of spaced plastic strips mounted on frame means,said bottom panel having base means thereon provided with downwardly andoutwardly directed feet that dig into the bottom of a body of water togive stability to the set trap, said top panel having door meanstherein, and one of the remainder of said panels having a lobsterentrance means therein.

2. A lobster trap as recited in claim 1, wherein all of said panels areplanar, and said frame means, said door means and said base means arealso made of plastic.

3. A lobster trap, comprising: a container including parallel top andbottom panels, a pair of vertical end panels, and a pair of side panelsthat slope inwardly from said bottom panel toward said top panel, all ofsaid panels being made of spaced plastic strips mounted on frame means,said bottom panel having base means thereon, said top panel having doormeans therein, and one of the remainder of said panels having a lobsterentrance means therein, said base means comprising: a plurality oftransversely extending ballast boxes secured to the underside of saidbottom panel, each of said ballast boxes comprising: a pair of parallel,generally vertical sidewalls, the bottom edge of each sidewall havingthe configuration of a shallow inverted V, and the opposite end edges ofsaid sidewalls sloping inwardly from the bottom to the top thereof,whereby the opposite lower corners of each sidewall form pointed feet; abottom wall extending between the bottom edges of said sidewalls; and apair of end walls, one mounted to extend between each pair of said endedges.

4. A lobster trap as recited in claim 3, wherein said sidewalls, saidbottom wall and said end walls are made of plastic, and wherein saidbottom wall has drain holes therein.

5. A lobster trap as recited in claim 3, wherein said ballast boxes areof a length such that said pointed feet thereon extend laterally fromsaid bottom panel.

6. A lobster trap, comprising: a container including rectangular,parallel top and bottom panels, a pair of trapezoidal vertical endpanels, and a pair of rectangular side panels that slope inwardly fromsaid bottom panel toward said top panel, each of said panels comprisinga plastic frame having spaced plastic strips mounted thereon, saidframes being joined along the edges thereof to form said container; adoor mounted on said top panel; a lobster entrance means in at least oneof said side panels; and a plurality of plastic ballast boxes secured tothe underside of said bottom panel, said ballast boxes having pointedfeet on the outer, lower corners thereof.

7. A lobster trap as recited in claim 6, wherein said ballast boxes eachextend transversely of said bottom panel, and comprise: a pair ofgenerally vertical, spaced parallel sidewalls, the bottom edge of eachsidewall defining a shallow inverted V, and the end edges of saidsidewalls sloping inwardly from the bottom to the top thereof; a bottomwall extending between said bottom edges; and end walls extendingbetween said end edges and abutting the end edges of said bottom wall.

8. A lobster trap as recited in claim 7, wherein said bottom wall ofeach ballast box has drain holes therein, and wherein said pointed feetare positioned laterally outwardly of said bottom panel of saidcontainer.

9. A lobster trap, comprising: a container including a bottom panel; anda plurality of spaced and generally parallel ballast boxes mounted onthe underside of said bottom panel, each of said boxes comprisingc'a'pair of generally vertical, spaced parallel sidewalls, the bottom edgeof each sidewall defining a shallow inverted V, and the end edges ofsaid sidewalls sloping inwardly from the bottom to the top thereof; abottom wall extending between said bottom edges; and end walls extendingbetween said end edges and abutting the end edges of said bottom wall,whereby downwardly and outwardly pointing feet are formed on the lowercorners of said box.

1. A lobster trap, comprising: a container including parallel top andbottom panels, a pair of vertical end panels, and a pair of side panelsthat slope inwardly from said bottom panel toward said top panel, all ofsaid panels being made of spaced plastic strips mounted on frame means,said bottom panel having base means thereon provided with downwardly andoutwardly directed feet that dig into the bottom of a body of water togive stability to the set trap, said top panel having door meanstherein, and one of the remainder of said panels having a lobsterentrance means therein.
 2. A lobster trap as recited in claim 1, whereinall of said panels are planar, and said frame means, said door means andsaid base means are also made of plastic.
 3. A lobster trap, comprising:a container including parallel top and bottom panels, a pair of verticalend panels, and a pair of side panels that slope inwardly from saidbottom panel toward said top panel, all of said panels being made ofspaced plastic strips mounted on frame means, said bottom panel havingbase means thereon, said top panel having door means therein, and one ofthe remainder of said panels having a lobster entrance means therein,said base means comprising: a plurality of transversely extendingballast boxes secured to the underside of said bottom panel, each ofsaid ballast boxes comprising: a pair of parallel, generally verticalsidewalls, the bottom edge of each sidewall having the configuration ofa shallow inverted V, and the opposite end edges of said sidewallssloping inwardly from the bottom to the top thereof, whereby theopposite lower corners of each sidewall form pointed feet; a bottom wallextending between the bottom edges of said sidewalls; and a pair of endwalls, one mounted to extend between each pair of said end edges.
 4. Alobster trap as recited in claim 3, wherein said sidewalls, said bottomwall and said end walls are made of plastic, and wherein said bottomwall has drain holes therein.
 5. A lobster trap as recited in claim 3,wherein said ballast boxes are of a length such that said pointed feetthereon extend laterally from said bottom panel.
 6. A lobster trap,comprising: a container including rectangular, parallel top and bottompanels, a pair of trapezoidal vertical end panels, and a pair ofrectangular side panels that slope inwardly from said bottom paneltoward said top panel, each of said panels comprising a plastic framehaving spaced plastic strips mounted thereon, said frames being joinedalong the edges thereof to form said container; a door mounted on saidtop panel; a lobster entrance means in at least one of said side panels;and a plurality of plastic ballast boxes secured to the underside ofsaid bottom panel, said ballast boxes having pointed feet on the outer,lower corners thereof.
 7. A lobster trap as recited in claim 6, whereinsaid ballast boxes each extend transversely of said bottom panel, andcomprise: a pair of generally vertical, spaced parallel sidewalls, thebottom edge of each sidewall defining a shallow inverted V, and the endedges of said sidewalls sloping inwardly from the bottom to the topthereof; a bottom wall extending between said bottom edges; and endwalls extending between said end edges and abutting the end edges ofsaid bottom wall.
 8. A lobster trap as recited in claim 7, wherein saidbottom wall of each ballast box has drain holes therein, and whereinsaid pointed feet are positioned laterally outwardly of said bottompanel of said container.
 9. A lobster trap, comprising: a containerincluding a bottom panel; and a plurality of spaced and generallyparallel ballast boxes mounted on the underside of said bottom panel,each of said boxes comprising: a pair of generally vertical, spacedparallel sidewalls, the bottom edge of each sidewall defining a shallowinverted V, and the end edges of said sidewalls sloping inwardly fromthe bottom to the top thereof; a bottom wall extending between saidbottom edges; and end walls extending between said end edges andabutting the end edges of said bottom wall, whereby downwardly andoutwardly pointing feet are formed on the lower corners of said box.